Rev your engine: the Polish Falcons gear up for another car show

For all car enthusiasts and motor-heads, a trip to the Motor City of Detroit might be a fabulous time, but it’s not necessary in order to enjoy an engine revving, glorious spectacle of cars and motorcycles. If you adore classic cars like vintage Firebirds and Mustangs, and your heart skips a beat when you see one on the street, there is a summertime event planned just for your type.

At the Depew Polish Falcons, there is a car show every year, which takes place from May 10 and runs until Sept. 14 this year. The show draws about 100 to 120 cars, and hot dogs, hamburgers, and ice cream are for sale. The Depew Polish Falcons are now in their 12th successful year of the car show.

The Depew Polish Falcons car show began with the Main Bearings Car Club, who needed a venue in which to show off the plethora of cars that they owned. A true “classic car” is one that dates pre-1990, and a restored classic car can be worth a tidy sum, sometimes more than $100,000. For a person who loves their classic hot rod, though, it’s not about the monetary value, or the envious stares they receive on the 33 when the weather is warm…it’s a true love and devotion to a personal extension of themselves.

“Anyone and everyone can bring their car or motorcycle in, and it costs nothing,” said Fred Szafranski, president of the Depew Polish Falcons. According to Szafranski, the show has drawn in “anything and everything - classic cars and right up to new Chargers, Mustangs, and Challengers.”

On show days, Szafranski sports a yellow Corvette hat, perhaps an ode to the 1976 yellow Corvette that he owns. In fact, his wife is a classic car lover too; she owns a 1978 Camero. Szafranski shows off his speedy yellow Corvette in the car show for onlookers to admire.

“The kids enjoy it and it’s just a plain old good time,” Szafranski said. “If it wasn’t for the Main Bearings, this would not be.”

The Depew Polish Falcons are also hosting a Bike Week starting on July 19, where they will sell “goodies” and things of that nature as well. At the car show, which is an ongoing and ever-popular affair, hot dogs will be sold from 5 p.m. on. By 4:30 p.m. there are typically at least 30 cars already parked and ready for the show, and by 6 p.m. there are about 100 cars all in a row.

“The variety of cars; you never know what you’re going to get in the lot,” Szafranski said. “When I started coming to car shows here, I loved it so much.”

The Depew Polish Falcons are located at 445 Columbia Ave., and they can be reached by calling 684-2373. The car show will take place from 6 to 9 p.m., every Thursday from May 10 until Sept. 14, and is the largest weekly car show in the area.

It’s a family-friendly event and the Falcons’ bar will be open to the public, too. Check out the scene and who knows – maybe you will fall in love with a classic car for your own garage.